Whether it’s through the morning announcements, class lessons, or even extracurricular activities, the school tries to keep students involved in issues facing the school community as well as the outside world. On Dec. 11, the junior grade participated in an assembly which acknowledged the matter of dating violence.

Lead by Brady Root, the assembly was put on by Rutgers’ SCREAM Theater, a group that focuses on educating their audience on real world problems. The assembly was put on by none other than junior Lara Becker in hopes to complete her Gold Award for Girl Scouts.

“I think this is a very important topic that people need to talk about more, especially since Brady mentioned in the assembly that 1 in 3 high school students will be a victim of dating violence,” Becker said. “A lot of times, people don’t even realize they are in an unhealthy relationship until they are able to view information such as the example expressed in the performance.”

The performance followed seven actors, two in a relationship and five of their close friends. The leading actors demonstrated what being in an unhealthy, and often times abusive, relationship, while their friends displayed how different people react when confronted with a toxic relationship.

The skit grew increasingly intense when the male lead, Theo, shoved his girlfriend, Brooklyn, to the ground all while calling her insultful things. While some of the friends tried to be there for Brooklyn, others acted as if it was her fault for putting up with such a disrespectful boyfriend.

At the end, the audience got to ask questions to the different characters. Through this, the junior class acquired a deeper knowledge on the dangers and warnings of an abusive relationship.

The topic of this assembly is significant, and it particularly pertains to high school students. Given that high school students are extremely likely to be involved in an abusive relationship, the assembly was able to give important insight to their key demographic.

“I hope that people will be more willing to openly talk about information that may be uncomfortable, such as dating violence,” Becker said. “I also hope that administrators in this school will realize how important of a topic this is (enough so that we can bring this group back to our school another year), and will find a way to present this information to more than just the junior class in the future.”

While the school should continue the discussion of dating violence throughout the school year, there is no doubt that they should bring the SCREAM Theater group back for another performance next year.